This is the Out of Character Page, meaning things here are mostly written as our authors, rather than our characters. News about the site, e.g. classes being posted, people going away, goes here. That said, we will be using this page for some 'in character' work during this thread, which means you will write posts as your characters. This post is an introduction to class threads – some dos and don'ts – written Out of Character (OOC). There will then be a class post done In Character (IC) for you all to try your hand at and where I will offer feedback. This is primarily aimed at new authors, although any existing authors who would like to work on new characters in this way are welcome to do so, as long as they have been submitted and accepted to the site.

How do classes work?Classes are posted by professors and the students write responses in which their character attempts the assignment that has been set. The basic class rules are that your posts must be well-written, 200 words minimum and realistic. You are awarded house points for your efforts in class, and these are given based on HOW WELL WRITTEN the post is, not what the character has done. That is, a character who completes the assignment perfectly but in a post that is short or unrealistic will receive fewer points than a well-written, detailed post about the character struggling or making mistakes.

How much time should my post cover?This is a tricky one, as it's very variable. You certainly do not have to cover the entire lesson in one post, and people very rarely do this. A good rule of thumb is 'how long would it be before someone else became involved in this interaction?' Your character might try the spell a few times then see how their neighbour is doing, for example. If you write the entire lessonin one post, someone may try to backtrack a bit and say they started a conversation with youpart way through but it becomes harder for them to do so.

Accidents and emergenciesThis ties in well with the above point. Some of us have a streak that is amused by the thought of landing our characters in the hospital wing. Whilst that might be fun, it has to be done realistically. There is a teacher on hand in all classes, and they would not let the situation get out of hand. For example, compare the two following examples:

'Joe Bloggs took a deep breath, preparing to cast the charm. “Wingardium Leviosa!” he cried. However, he must not have pronounced it quite right, or perhaps he had flicked then swished, rather than swishing and flicking. Either way, a large bang sounded and clouds of purple smoke erupted from his wand. Within minutes, the smoke had spread, obscuring everything in the room. Joe coughed. He wanted to get out but he could no longer see the door. He stumbled in what he thought was the right direction but his foot caught on a stool which had been left sticking out and he fell and banged his head painfully.'

'Joe Bloggs took a deep breath, preparing to cast the charm. “Wingardium Leviosa!” he cried. However, he must not have pronounced it quite right, or perhaps he had flicked then swished, rather than swishing and flicking. Either way, a large bang sounded and clouds of purple smoke erupted from his wand.“Uh-oh,” he breathed, hoping he wouldn't be in trouble.'

The second example gives the teacher time to react to the situation. In the first, her classroom has become an unrecognisable sea of fog by the time the post breaks off and allows her to respond. It becomes very difficult for the teacher responding, who has to try to explain or justify how the situation got that bad before they noticed. And, if you really want to smack your character's head of the desk, you can always end the second example with him being so surprised he jumps and trips over...

TaggingIf your character calls on another specific character, or does something that would attract the teacher's notice, it is a good idea to tag them. This simply means writing [Tag so-and-so] in the subject line. That way, they know that they specifically are expected to respond. Posts are open for anyone to reply to unless a) someone is tagged in the subject line b) the character narrows it down within the post (e.g. 'Joe sat down, being sure to grab a seat next to someone he recognised from his house.')

If you have any questions about these points, or anything else in relation to posting in class, please respond to this post. You may write your questions out of character.

I will be putting a class post below this, which you can respond to in character. You may reply to each other, and I will offer feedback if it is needed. The original class is available here Lesson, if you would like to read some examples of how other people responded. However, please ensure that you put your replies on the copy on this, the OOC page.

Please note, this is just a tutorial. Therefore, when you start Sonora, none of this will really have happened; you will not have met the people you post with, or tried the spell in this class.

Please note that the tutorial was created by our Transfiguration Professor, Professor Skies.

It felt good to be back in a proper school. Not so good that she wouldn't go home most nights but she definitely preferred it to private tutoring. Most tutees were from rich families who thought of... more